Everything feels possible for Baltimore right now. Following wacky victories over the Steelers and Vikings, last night's triumph over the Lions was just another notch on the belt of this team's oddly beautiful campaign:

When it comes to the No. 1 seed, we'd be stunned if Denver (11-3) doesn't nail it to the floor with games against the Texans and Raiders to close out the schedule. The Patriots (10-4) need the Broncos to drop one of those two tilts (while sweeping the Ravens and Bills) to reroute the postseason through New England.

After what we saw from the Gronkowski-free Patriotson Sunday, New England's ceiling feels more realistically notched in ...

... the battle for No. 2

New England holds a one-game edge for the second seed, but the Bengals -- owning the tiebreaker -- remain in play for a bye if they win out and the Patriots don't.

I don't see it happening. Sunday night's implosion confirmed my worst fears about Cincinnati. They've been a good home team, but no squad in the playoff race is more prone to shrinking in a big spot.

While we're at it, even the Colts are alive for the bye. If (a) Indy were to win out and finish 11-5; (b) Cincy were to go 1-1 over the next two weeks; and (c) New England were to drop one of its final two matchups, the Colts would own the conference-record tiebreaker over the Patriots at the final gun.

Sixth-seed chase far from over

The final playoff spot in the AFC is bound to go down to the wire.

The Ravens and Dolphins -- both 8-6 -- currently lead the way, with Baltimore owning the tiebreaker after beating Miami in Week 5. If Baltimore wins the North, there's a scenario in which the Dolphins actually could hop over the eliminated Bengals for the AFC's final playoff spot.

San Diego (7-7) remains an intriguing outlier and can't be dismissed after slamming Denver on Thursday.

I'd disregard any team without a legitimate passer, but that's what makes this race for No. 6 so intriguing: Joe Flacco is magic, Philip Rivers is reborn and Ryan Tannehill's toughness behind a junky line is underrated.